While the next seven weeks figures to amount to a coronation ceremony in the Eastern Conference, there should be some legitimately intriguing competition in the West, where Oklahoma City might remain the favorite but is by no means the only team with a shot at landing in the NBA Finals. The big questions looming in these series …

1. How will the Thunder handle seeing their old friend?

Dwight Howard will lead the No. 7 seed Lakers into a first-round playoffs series with the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo)

The old friend, of course, is former sixth man James Harden, a key component of last year’s OKC bunch that broke through to the NBA Finals. When the summer came, though, the Thunder and Harden were unable to reach a deal on an extension, and Oklahoma City—facing a luxury-tax burden—ultimately dealt him to Houston burden, which paid Harden the max.

It paid off for the Rockets, as Harden became an All-Star, averaging 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists. It paid off for the Thunder, too, as Harden’s replacement as sixth man, Kevin Martin, averaged 14.0 points and shot 42.6 percent from the 3-point line, as Oklahoma City rolled to the No. 1 seed in the West.

No question, it will be about as much fun as a No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed matchup can get, and not just because of the Harden sideshow. The Rockets and Thunder are fast-paced efficient offensive teams, and rank second and third in the NBA, respectively, in points scored, a combined 211.7 points per game. But the Harden show will be worth watching, too—in his last game against his old team he scored 46 points on 14-for-19 shooting, with seven rebounds and six assists.

2. Can this Spurs-Lakers matchup create Spurs-Lakers drama of old?

Over a period of 10 years, from 1999 through 2008, the Lakers and Spurs met in the playoffs six times, and though they did not play a series that required seven games to complete, they did record some memorable moments in those matchups (Derek Fisher, anyone?).

If this series can recapture some of those old moments, it probably will be a matter of attrition alone. The Lakers are already without star guard Kobe Bryant, and are hoping to have a hobbled Steve Nash back, while the Spurs are coping with injuries to Manu Ginobili (hamstring) and Tony Parker (neck).

But before the Lakers lost Bryant, they had been playing well, going 26-12, and then capping that with two wins in pressure situations, over the Spurs and Rockets. The defense has shown major improvement lately, and if the Lakers can slow the tempo and let the frontcourt of center Dwight Howard and power forward Pau Gasol assert itself, the Lakers can give the Spurs a good first-round run.

3. Have injuries left the Nuggets vulnerable?

They’ve lost their second-leading scorer, Danilo Gallinari, to knee surgery. Their leading rebounder, Kenneth Faried, has been out with a sprained ankle. Their top scorer and assist man, Ty Lawson, missed time with a plantar fascia problem, and though he has returned, there’s no telling if he is quite 100 percent yet.

While all of this should have left the Nuggets limping into the playoffs, they have, instead, won 23 of their last 26 games dating back to February 23, and have shown little trouble in replacing the scoring and size Gallinari provided. Coach George Karl has moved Wilson Chandler into the starting five, and in eight starts this year, Chandler averaged 18.9 points on 52.5 percent shooting (as opposed to 11.7 points on 43.9 percent shooting as a reserve). Assuming they can get Faried back, the Nuggets might not be so bad off here.

The one thing that could make them vulnerable is the Warriors themselves. While Golden State is a young and mostly inexperienced team, they are very much capable of playing at the kind of lightning pace that the Nuggets use to expose older slower teams. But the Warriors will look to get out in transition, too, and the hope is that their youth and Denver’s injuries counterbalance the depth advantage—as well as the homecourt altitude edge—that the Nuggets have.

4. Can the Grizzlies exorcise last year’s demons?

It was, arguably, the most stunning eight minutes in the history of NBA playoff basketball. The Grizzlies held a more-than-comfortable lead in their opening game against the Clippers last year, leading by 24 points in the fourth quarter with 7:54 showing on the clock. By the time Chris Paul made two free throws with 23.7 seconds left, the Clippers had come all the way back, outscoring Memphis 28-3 to close the game, taking a back-breaking first-game win and leaving the crowd at FedEx Forum in stunned silence.

The Grizzlies fought bravely after that, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to win Games 5 and 6 and force a seventh game, again back at home. But the Memphis offense ground to a halt in the fourth quarter again, as the Grizzlies scored just 16 points down the stretch to turn a one-point lead into a 10-point loss.

This is a different Memphis bunch, with Rudy Gay traded to Toronto and better role players filling in for him. Of course, the Clippers are a much better, deeper unit now, too, with experienced players like Matt Barnes and Lamar Odom on hand as well as the youthful spark of Eric Bledsoe off the bench. This figures to be a tough matchup by any measure, but with the burden of last year’s flop still weighing on them, it’s especially significant for the Grizzlies.